


Treading Water

by Nevanna



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 06:02:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13428348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nevanna/pseuds/Nevanna
Summary: Ben is listening for the voice from his dreams.





	Treading Water

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to the fine folks on Tumblr who suggested the ocean as a metaphor for the Force. I wish I could take credit for that comparison.

Sunset finds Ben sitting cross-legged at the foot of his favorite tree on the temple grounds, listening for the voice from his dreams. It calls to him from the uncharted depths of the Force, while his classmates splash in the shallows…

_Will you believe, Ben, that you are meant for more than this?_

…and yet it also guides him as he ventures out, praises his strength and endurance, urges him forward…

_Or will you show only weakness?_

…and then he’s yanked above the surface, gasping for breath while the world solidifies.

“Where were you?” asks another voice that he’s known for years.

This isn’t the first time that his master has asked a question that Ben doesn’t know how to answer.

“We’ve talked about this,” Luke continues. “I know that you’re eager to move ahead in your training, but the consequences of projecting your consciousness without supervision…”

“I know the consequences!” Ben snaps, and for a moment, the air between them seems to thicken, as if lightning is waiting to strike. He bows his head. “I apologize, Master Skywalker. I forgot myself.”

“This is hardly the first time,” Luke observes. “If something is troubling you, there’s no harm in telling me…”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

Luke hesitates, then closes his eyes, and Ben takes a step back. He remembers a long-ago visit, shortly after he started showing his parents the tricks that he knew, the ones that made his father mutter and scowl, and led to some Very Serious Conversations with his mother. _“I want to find out what’s going on inside your head,”_ Uncle Luke said during that visit, _“if you’ll let me.”_

This time, when Ben recognizes the gentle, insistent pressure inside his skull (and what does Luke suspect, what is he hoping to find?), he summons all his strength and pushes _back_ , imagining a wall around his thoughts, as thick and unyielding as ancient stone.

The pressure intensifies for a moment, and then retreats. Luke staggers slightly, but keeps his balance. “I don’t know whether to reprimand you or to be impressed with your psychic defenses,” he says drily, “but I think that you’ve made your point.”

That night, as Ben floats between consciousness and sleep, the voice from his dreams ripples across his mind: _Well done._


End file.
